The present disclosure relates, in general, to a hands-free communication device apparatus for use in a vehicle during vehicle operation.
The present disclosure relates, in general, to the field of audio communication devices; and, in particular, to an invention that reduces the distraction that results from using an audio communication device while operating any vehicle.
For example, a number of studies and anecdotal reports conclude that using a cellular telephone while driving is a major contributing factor in traffic accidents. One study found that using a cellular telephone while driving was more deleterious than alcohol intoxication. Consequently, some state and local governments have enacted laws that regulate the use of cellular telephones and mandate that only “hands free” cellular telephones may be used in moving vehicles.
These hands free laws are predicated on the assumption that holding the cellular telephone in one hand while driving the vehicle with the other hand distracts the operator. This is inherently fallacious since it is widely known that many operators use only one hand while driving; and that there is no evidence of one-armed individuals having higher accident rates than the general population, all other factors being equal.
Existing inventions and these laws have not addressed the underlying evolutionary psychological and physiological nature of human survival mechanisms. That is, three-dimensional sound processing is the first line of defense for survival since it allows the detection of potential dangers from all directions, in all lighting conditions, and at greater distances than any other sense. It is the last faculty to go to sleep and the first to wake up. It is the reason the ears face in the same direction as the eyes, forward.
The sense of hearing is so crucial to survival that it has priority with respect to the brain's processing resources as the brain continuously compares the location, in three-dimensional space, and the content of every sound to memories of either safe or potentially threatening sounds.
Sound location is an inherent rather than a learned behavior. It is the reason that a vehicle operator listening to a person on his right will periodically turn to the right as if to confirm the voice's source. It is also the reason, if the person in back is talking, that a vehicle operator may continually look in the rear-view mirror to the point of complete distraction.
A subconscious decision is made for each sound as to whether, and how often, a visual confirmation of the sound's location is required. This visual confirmation need be nothing more than the momentarily shifting of the eyes' attention to something that appears to be in synchronicity with what the ears are hearing.
An evolved hierarchy dependent on the sound's content and location dictates the level of attention, i.e. brain-processing resources, each sound receives. When viewed only with respect to a sound's location, this hierarchy is easily discerned.
Considered in ascending order, sounds within the peripheral vision which can be easily identified with a slight movement of the eyes are the least mentally taxing. Next, sounds in back, once identified, only need to be continuously monitored for change. Then sounds directly in front receive a great deal of attention because they are the focus of the eyes and ears. And, at the top, demanding immediate attention is that unique human attribute, the internal voice, which we can call the voice of the conscious mind.
The most distracting location for the sound-generating portion of any audio communication device, in terms of mental resource allocation, would be covering both ears and excluding outside extraneous sounds because this situation mimics the sound of the internal voice or conscious mind. The next level distracting situation would be a device on or in one only ear that excludes extraneous sounds. After this, the next distracting situation is a sound source that is away from the head, allows for extraneous sounds to enter the ears, and is omni-directional, which makes it devoid of clues as to the sound's location. The least distracting, compared to the above, is a device that is held in one hand up to and near one ear because extraneous sounds are intermittent and the device's position in the hand provides some tactical information as to the sound's location.
Until an apparent visual connection between the sound and its source is made, a compounding feedback loop is created between a sound and the perception by the ears to the detriment of all other mental activity. The end result is less attention given to operating the vehicle.
Audio communications devices in vehicles will remain problematic until they satisfy the powerful evolutionary psychological and physiological human need to know a sound's source.